A combined experimental and numerical study has been conducted to determine the stagnation point heat transfer for laminar methane/air flame impinging on a flat surface. Effects of Reynolds number, equivalence ratio and burner diameter on stagnation point heat flux were examined experimentally at different separation heights. Maximum stagnation point heat flux was obtained when the flat surface was closest to the tip of the inner premixed reaction zone. Heat flux decreased along the axial direction when the separation distance was further increased from the tip of inner reaction zone. There was a secondary rise in heat flux at the stagnation point at larger separation distances. Correlations were developed for stagnation point Nusselt number. Numerical simulations were carried out using a commercial CFD code (FLUENT) for laminar methane/air flame impinging on a flat surface for various separation distances. Results were compared with those found experimentally. The reason for conducting the simulations was to (a) gain more insight into how the presence of the plate affects the flame and the flow and temperature fields and (b) to explain the reason for high heat flux when the tip of the inner reaction zone was very close to the stagnation point. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.